Solar Photovoltaic Power Facility Rental Service to be Provided to Houses

The MOTIE will install a total of 6MW solar photovoltaic power facilities at 2,000 households on pilot basis in this year.

▲ A conceptual diagram of solar photovoltaic power facility rental service for houses

Solar photovoltaic power plant rental service will be launched for houses that consume much electric power.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE, Minister: Yoon Sang-jick) said on September 3 that it will implement a pilot program of renting solar photovoltaic power facilities to individual houses in this month. Rental companies will install solar photovoltaic power facilities and provide maintenance services. This measure is taken as part of the ‘plan of invigorating renewable energy industry’ announced on August 27.

Consumers have been hesitating to install solar photovoltaic power facilities at their houses due to high up-front investment costs and necessity of maintaining such facilities for a long period of time. And, the MOTIE has been seeking ways of expanding solar photovoltaic power facilities to individual houses by supporting relevant companies to install, operate and maintain such facilities while reducing consumers’ financial burden.

In the pilot program of renting solar photovoltaic power facilities, companies will install and rent such facilities to households that consume over 550kWh of power a month.

When they rent such facilities, consumers can use the same amount of electric power by paying monthly rental fee and lower electric charges (less than 80% of previous electric charges) without investing up-front costs in installing facilities. Meanwhile, rental companies can gain earnings by receiving rental fees and selling renewable energy points (REPs), while taking charge of maintaining facilities.

The MOTIE plans to install a total of about 6MW solar photovoltaic power facilities at 2,000 households (3kW per household) during the latter part of this year through the pilot program. It requires 8.6 billion won to support subsidies for installing 6MW solar photovoltaic power facilities.

Companies that desire to take part in the pilot program of renting solar photovoltaic power facilities may submit applications to New & Renewable Energy Dissemination Department of Korea Energy Management Corporation from September 4 to 11, and they can obtain further information on the program on its website (www.energy.or.kr).

The MOTIE expects that solar photovoltaic power plant rental service for houses will help companies fulfill renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) while contributing to creating new solar photovoltaic power market and expanding dissemination of such facilities without government’s support of subsidies.

It also anticipates that consumers will gain benefits of reducing up-front investment costs and receiving maintenance service. And creation of new demand will contribute to improving financial situation at solar photovoltaic power technology companies.

Energy Resource Policy Officer Song Yu-jong at the MOTIE said, “We expect that the pilot program will generate new demand for solar photovoltaic power-related products and bring about an example of showing possibility of convergence-based creative economy in renewable energy industry.”